Billionaire Mark Walter, CEO of asset manager and brokerage firm Guggenheim Partners and a major investor in pro sports, has signed on to buy the LA Lakers for a record-high $10 billion, according to ESPN.
Walter has been a stakeholder in the franchise since 2021, when he bought a 26% share and received the right of first refusal for the majority share, ESPN reported.
In addition to his role with Guggenheim, which manages more than $345 billion in assets globally, Walter is chairman and founder of the holding company TWG Global.
Walter’s estimated net worth is around $6.1 billion, according to Forbes, and at one point was up to $12.5 billion, according to Bloomberg.
He is purchasing the Lakers from the Buss family, who have owned the franchise since 1979, the longest-running ownership of a current NBA franchise. During that time period, the team won 11 championships.
The Lakers’ sale was approved by members of the Buss family through a majority vote, per ESPN. The team’s current governor, Jeanie Buss, will continue in that role and run the team going forward as a stipulation of the deal. The Buss family will also retain a 15% stake.
The NBA franchise will add to Walter’s collection of sports investments, including his primary ownership of the MLB’s Los Angeles Dodgers and part ownership of the WNBA’s Sparks.
His investment helped found the Professional Women’s Hockey League, whose championship trophy, the Walter Cup, bears his name. Walter is also the owner of the Cadillac Formula 1 racing team and has a partial stake in Premier League’s Chelsea FC.
During the California wildfires earlier this year, Walter helped lead a recovery initiative called LA Rises, pledging $100 million toward rebuilding efforts.
Earvin “Magic” Johnson, the former Lakers star and basketball Hall-of-Famer turned businessman, has previously worked with Walter on LA Rises and as part-owner of the Dodgers and the Sparks.
Johnson shared his support for the deal on X, writing that Walter is the “best choice” for the role and “fans should be ecstatic.”
The Lakers rank second-highest in overall NBA championship wins, second to the Boston Celtics, a franchise that in March was slated to be purchased by private equity exec Bill Chisholm for $6.1 billion, which was then the most expensive deal for any North American sports team.
Read the full article here
